Hi all. I am Miki Sprosen and my team-mate is Phil Betty ( www.teamwildcard.co.uk ). We are classic short circuit racers from the UK who have also been doing speed trials on the famous Pendine Beach sand course for the last couple of years. We race Triumphs, both solo and sidecar. We have been saving for the last three years and are now ready to come to Bonneville in 2018. I have been reading the rule book a lot but I find it never hurts to ask questions of the folks who know, so here we go.Question one: Can a pre 1981 push rod engine run in the classic class? For example, could Phil's 350 Triumph which qualifies for M-PF run in the M-CF class? There is no mention of this in the rule book but it does say in the classification section that bikes must run in the lowest eligible class, although there is no priority list to refer to.Question two: My understanding is that unlike SCTA speed week rules, there is no overbore allowance over OEM for any displacement class except classic and vintage ( hence my first question ). For example, Phil's 350 Triumph would need to be standard bore to run in M-PF. Is this the case?Question three: At Speed Week you require a support vehicle to follow your every run and be on cb radio. Is this the case at BMST, and if not, what happens if you break down? The reason for asking this question is we were wondering about the logistics of only having the one vehicle between the two of us. We are trying to find ways of making this affordable!How is that for starters! On a final note, we need to make arrangements to ship my Triumph pre unit sidecar, my Triumph production 650 and Phil's Triumph 350 racer to your shores next year so any advice on this front would be greatly appreciated.Cheers, Miki.

Hi Miki and Phil. You can use a support vehicle to cart your bike around at the BMST. Some of us do not use any support and we ride our race bikes where we need to go. The distances are not that far. It is like Pendine in that respect.

Hi Miki and Phil.There is no need to use a CB at BMST. This was a question that was asked by someone else fairly recently and the answer came back that one was not required. Not wishing to volunteer anyone, but you may find that someone (another race team) may be able to run your support vehicle to collect one of you while the other is getting ready for their run if this was needed. Otherwise just run up the salt, through the mile and exit safely and as early as you can. Pull clear of the course and stop. Wait for your mate to arrive with you and then head back to the mile marker you launched from to collect your support vehicle. As I say, I am not volunteering anyone for this but I have seen it happen on more than one occasion. They are a really great group of people on the salt and are always willing to offer help and support.

Good luck with your venture, I am sure it will be nothing but enjoyable.

Question 1: The 2017 rule book says that a pre 1981 engined bike can run in the CF (classic fuel) class. But there is nothing to prevent you from also running in the PF (Push Rod Fuel class). The rules do not specify an age cutoff. So the way I read the rules is that you may run in either class. In racing, you can do whatever you want unless the rules say you can't!

Question 2. If he runs in the classic class you can have an overbore of up to .050". But if he runs in the PF class it must be stock bore exactly. No allowance for wear. I lost a record because of that rule!

Thanks to Don, John and the Walrus ( sounds like a rock band! ) for the replies so far.Very helpful, and reinforces my own sketchy interpretation of the rule book.Please keep the info coming in. I would also be interested to hear what the conditions and general experience has been like at the BMST over the last couple of years.Thanks, Miki

Miki. I organised 6 bikes for SW 2012, and 10 bikes for both SW 2014 & 2015. We raced SW again this year with 5 bikes in the container. Everything was via Sea as we filler a 20ft container, if there is less of you, you can ship a "part load" but it may take longer depending on the route. In 2013 there was only myself racing and time was against us so we flew the bike out and back. More expensive but much faster. Costs- By Air about £3k including Carnet & Insurance, Bond etc. By Sea it was £5750 outbound, I have not the bill yet for inbound. I expect the total to be around £9500 between the 5 bikes.

Typically by sea you need to allow 6 weeks minimum from docks to docks. Then you need a van to transport all your stuff, bikes, spares etc. from the docks, usually Long Beach, to Bonneville, 650miles. If you drive 24x7 you can do it in one day but the road is boring to the extreme. We normally take 2 days via Vegas. A van is best as you can travel at the speed limit, trailers are restricted to 55mph, yawn!

Go to saltbike775.co.uk for our bike & PM me here for some contact details. Only to glad to help.

Miki one thing you always have to have in mind is that the salt flats are a natural occurrence. That being the case; they are ever changing. This year the salt was certainly not the best, but better than some previous years I think. Last year I had bikes almost hot lapping from my starting point. We flagged several riders off several times in one day last year. One rider made 14 passes! this year was not comparative unfortunately for several reasons. The guys at BMST that drag the course did an amazing job. They polished it a couple of times through the week to keep it as good as they did. It did have some lumps and bumps, but I saw another course from a previous event (this year) and the BMST one was far superior. Bikes were putting in speeds of 200mph+ so it can not have been all that bad.

It also helps that at the BMST event there are only bikes running the course so you are not contending with bigger vehicles.Usually BMST operates 2 courses, this year for various reasons that was not possible so all starting points were on one course. Hopefully that will not be an issue next year and it might be back to two courses.

2006 the salt was amazing, and so was the weather, it all created the perfect storm I guess. There are good salty years, and some not so good salty years and it all comes in the roll of the dice.

But it really is an experience to enjoy and savior. There really is something very special about that ground and the people that it brigs together each year.

Hi guys...I run a race car but don't forget you can ship to the east coast and tow and of course you can go to all the expense of getting it out there and Mother Nature decides to say no. In 14 and 15 the races where cancelled because of rain and it was flooded. So if you can link up with someone who could store your bikes if the weather is bad that would be a good idea.

If you are going to all the expense of shipping the bikes from UK, I would do both events. Speedweek and BMST are only a couple of weeks apart. Speedweek is a must do for any gearhead and is a huge event. BMST is a much smaller event but the track can be better as it doesn't get torn up by the cars. You've traveled all that way, why not double the track time.

To yg and Bmsp. The main problem with shipping UK to USA is the Carnet. It is a 1 year passport for the contents of the container, i.e. all the bikes, and you must take back everything you shipped in within that year. Secondly, all the bikes when shipped in one container must return at the same time because they are all on the same carnet. 3rd, it already takes the best part of 2 weeks to do SW staying on requires a very understanding boss and very long vacations. Lastly, with 5 bikes & teams everyone has to agree to whoever wants to stay the extra 2 weeks will in effect delay the return shipping so nobody will get their bike back until mid November and by then it's cold and wet in the UK so you cannot play with it anymore until April. Just doing SW is about the best a group can do.